librarysystems

San Antonio Public Library

San Antonio, TexasBexar CountyMunicipal libraryLarge cityFiscal year October 2023 to September 2024

San Antonio Public Library is a municipal public library system based in San Antonio (Bexar County), Texas, serving a legal service area of 1,868,052 residents through 29 library buildings. Among profiled systems in Texas, it ranks second for total visits, second for physical checkouts, second for operating spending and second for program attendance.

Among profiled systems serving 1 million or more residents, it ranks fifth for local government's share of operating revenue and eighth for weekly open hours per outlet, but ranks fifth-lowest for operating spending per resident and records the third-steepest decline in visits since FY 2019. Against the median system of its size class, it records 47% less program attendance per resident and 30% fewer print volumes per resident.

Compare with similar-size systemsSystems serving 1 million or more

San Antonio against the 35 systems of its size class

size-class median (50th percentile) · spine height = percentile within the class1.46Visitsper resident27th percentile2.68Checkoutsper resident41st percentile$28.29Spendingper resident13th percentile0.66Print volumesper resident19th percentile106Program visitsper 1,000 people22nd percentile4.7Computersper 10,000 people39th percentile50.5Open hoursper outlet a week75th percentile2.4Staff (FTE)per 10,000 people21st percentile
Gold tick: size-class medianVisits per resident1.4627th pct.Checkouts per resident2.6841st pct.Spending per resident$28.2913th pct.Print volumes per resident0.6619th pct.Program visits per 1,000 people10622nd pct.Computers per 10,000 people4.739th pct.Open hours per outlet a week50.575th pct.Staff (FTE) per 10,000 people2.421st pct.

How the measures and percentiles are calculated

San Antonio since FY 2019

Visits were 48% below the FY 2019 count of 5.3 million (size-class median: −34%). Physical checkouts moved 18% down over the same span.

FY 2019 = 100406080100FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
FY 2019 = 100406080100FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
  • Visits
  • Physical checkouts

Who comes to San Antonio programs

Programs for children up to age 11 drew 67% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 18 people each.

Children 0–11132,606Young adults 12–1819,975Adults 19+22,423General interest23,814
Children 0–11132,606Young adults 12–1819,975Adults 19+22,423General interest23,814

San Antonio in numbers, FY 2024

Visits
2,733,134
Physical checkouts
5,007,827
…of children's materials
2,485,643
Electronic checkouts
4,510,619
…of e-books
1,992,313
…of e-audio
1,945,265
Registered users
603,193
Program sessions
10,840
Program attendance
198,818
Print volumes
1,233,392
Audio items (physical)
102,867
Video items (physical)
185,001
Public computers
882
Public service hours, all outlets
76,150
Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
451.5
Operating spending
$52.8 million
…on books and other materials
$7.3 million
Overdue fines on print items
not charged

Where San Antonio gets its operating money

Operating revenue came to $53.7 million, or $28.74 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 503 profiled systems in Texas.

This system98%All profiled systems in Texas96%
This system98%All profiled systems in Texas96%
  • Local government
  • State
  • Federal
  • Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)

San Antonio, building by building

The 29 buildings cover 584,373 square feet in total, 0.31 square feet per resident against a median of 0.39 for the size class. The largest building is San Antonio Public Library at 238,000 square feet; the smallest is San Pedro Branch Library at 4,450. The longest hours, 53.6 a week, are shared by six buildings.

BuildingTypeTownHours a weekFloor area, sq ft
San Antonio Public LibraryCentral librarySan Antonio45.5238,000
Bazan Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio47.412,057
Brook Hollow Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.514,470
Carver Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.510,770
Cody Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.413,617
Collins Garden Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.510,306
Cortez Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.611,067
Encino Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.610,177
Forest Hills Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.512,035
Great Northwest Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio51.217,032
Guerra Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio45.614,452
Igo Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio40.416,554
Johnston Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio43.111,428
Landa Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio48.87,747
Las Palmas Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio35.613,792
Maverick Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio52.415,525
McCreless Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.512,677
Memorial Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio49.29,999
Mission Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.616,450
Pan American Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio49.311,322
Parman LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.516,684
Potranco Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.55,000
Pruitt Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio46.514,288
San Pedro Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.64,450
Schaefer Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.611,366
Semmes Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.315,975
Thousand Oaks Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.612,854
Tobin LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.511,975
Westfall Branch LibraryBranchSan Antonio53.512,304

Closest in size nationwide

Of these six systems, four record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to King County Library System in Washington.

SystemBased inResidentsVisits per residentCheckouts per residentSpending per resident
Broward County Libraries DivisionFort Lauderdale, FL1,776,2713.031.69$44.10
Las Vegas-Clark County Library DistrictLas Vegas, NV1,721,8512.243.82$51.67
Phoenix Public LibraryPhoenix, AZ1,697,6961.252.86$30.31
Orange County Public LibrariesSanta Ana, CA1,653,7182.104.68$38.92
King County Library SystemIssaquah, WA1,607,6503.357.16$90.15
Free Library of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA1,603,7971.021.24$73.89

Nearest in size within Texas

All profiled systems in Texas